SAVAGE, Minn. – Sébastien Bourdais wasn’t without a job for very long.
Mere hours after it was confirmed Bourdais would not return to Dale Coyne Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series, JDC-Miller MotorSports has confirmed the four-time Champ Car champion would join the team for the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Bourdais will partner with Joao Barbosa to share the No. 5 Cadillac DPi-V.R, which will carry sponsorship from Mustang Sampling. The agreement with Mustang Sampling is a two-year contract.
Bourdais returns to prototype competition after spending the past four seasons as a part of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT program while also racing in the NTT IndyCar Series.
“Following two very difficult weeks filled with uncertainty regarding my future, I am thrilled to get the opportunity to race a prototype again, be reunited with Joao, Ken and Brenda, and drive for JDC-Miller MotorSports and Mustang Sampling Racing,” Bourdais said. “I want to thank Christian and everyone who made this possible. 2020 can’t come soon enough and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of our Cadillac DPi-V.R.”
Mustang Sampling has been involved in IMSA competition since 2015 when the company partnered with Action Express Racing.
“We are honored to have Mustang Sampling joining us and grateful for the confidence Brenda and Ken Thompson have placed in our team and organization,” said John Church, managing partner of JDC-Miller MotorSports. “Mustang Sampling Racing has achieved a tremendous amount in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. We look forward to carrying on the legacy of the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing entry and hope to add more wins and championships in the near future.”
“We are thrilled to continue our Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac Prototype program with our new partner JDC-Miller MotorSports in 2020,” said Mustang Sampling President Ken Thompson. “Our first five years in IMSA with Action Express, Corvette, and Cadillac were great. Learning the sport and becoming a part of the IMSA family promoting sport car racing for all the great fans was fantastic and we are very thankful to all who guided us along the way. We had much success, enjoyed many wins and Championships during that time. Now with our partnership with JDC-Miller MotorSports we are confident this amazing run will continue and provide many future wins and Championships. Since joining the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship in 2014 JDC-Miller MotorSports has shown incredible growth and success in every category they have competed. We feel as a group we can be successful, both on and off the track, as we work together to develop new opportunities for Mustang Sampling and our fans.
“We are also extremely proud that along with this new venture we have added Christian Fittipaldi as an advisor and core part of the team, helping to ensure this continued success. We can’t wait to see the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R back on track at Daytona in just a few months. ”
The team also confirmed 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Loïc Duval will complete the line-up for the endurance rounds. Duval currently competes with Audi in the DTM and Formula E championship.
JDC-Miller further confirmed that it plans to continue running a two-car Cadillac DPi program in 2020.
“Our plans for the second car are progressing well and we will be running it again this season,” said Church. “We have a couple very solid pieces in place and are currently in discussions with several additional drivers and partners. We hope we can make an announcement on who will drive for us in the JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 85 entry very soon.”